Comments by "Louis Giokas" (@louisgiokas2206) on "Henry Stewart History" channel.

Your explanation of genesis of the First Opium War glosses over the causes of the conflict. One big part was the large trade deficit and the strain on silver reserves that the Chinese mandated must be used for such trade. Opium was a commodity that the British had in some of its colonies in abundance. So, in the end it was a balance of payments issue caused by restrictions laid on trade by the Qing dynasty. I do find amusing the characterization of the British being the biggest drug dealer of all. Funny, but true.
23
By the way, what the Europeans did in China they also did all over the world. The Chinese are nothing special in that regard. The Chinese last projected naval power in the early 15th century, in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean areas. This did not last long, as indicated. Later in the 15th century, the Europeans started projecting naval power and trade.
12
The sad thing is that when the CCP falls China is likely again to break up into competing warlord controlled regions. I have already been hearing that there is a nascent movement in southeastern China to break away. This region because of its location and geography has always been the most outward facing. I have even heard rumors of one city wanting to break away to ally/merge with Taiwan. All of this is rumor for now, but based on history it would not surprise me if it comes to pass.
5
@noahjohnson935 Um, I think your knowledge of history is severely lacking. I want to be respectful here, but the idea of empire is as old as it gets. The exploitation and suffering are the norm throughout history. The US oversaw a system for the last 75+ years that tried to break that cycle. Not the Chinese. They want to bring empire back. Go back and do some more reading.
4
@noahjohnson935 Well, I think you have a poor understanding of history.
4
@tuppenceworth5485 Such ignorance is staggering. The Chinese government at the time mandated that all exports could only be paid for in silver. It was not the British who decided to use silver. Your second point is also just plain wrong. I am trying to keep it clean here. Have you ever heard the term "legal tender"? Look it up. A shopkeeper has to accept that in exchange for goods. So, in the US, that is the dollar. If you walk into a shop in the US with euros or yen or yuan the shopkeeper can legally refuse to accept them. This same concept applies in those other countries. The reasons a shopkeeper would not want those other currencies are simple. For one thing the shopkeeper takes on exchange rate risk. I have worked in large corporation overseas. Even big companies have problems with that. If the payment is made in precious metals or some other commodity then the same issue holds. It would have to be voluntary on the shopkeeper's part. So, before putting your tuppence worth you might want to do some research.
3
@kasikwagoma6740 What a stupid statement. Who are you to make such a statement. You have not backed up your claim. So, tell me how you would portray it. Just making bald claims is no way to have a discussion.
2
@ivancho5854 Very interesting analysis and as far as I can tell quite true. I saw one analysis that claimed, and I have no way of knowing how accurate this is, that China has only had effective centralized control for about 300 years of its long history. Whatever the specific number, it is interesting in terms of the efforts by the CCP.
2
@ivancho5854 Good point. Whatever the actual figure, it shows something about perceptions in the world about China. The 19th century imperialists used China's regionalism to influence trade. Perhaps this should inform our policies today. Without the gunboats, of course.
2
@codyshi4743 First to your last point, China is not a developing nation. As for your first point, I. for one, never said that China "should" do anything. I am pointing out what is likely to happen given the history of country. The way you put it "...that a big state like China should be divided like what it is during the warlord era..." is a misrepresentation of what I said. As for comparing China to the "poor oppressed" people of Middle East, that is both foolish and ill informed. The countries you mention were creations of the imperialist powers after WWI. Prior to that they were part of the Ottoman Empire. For quite some time, by the way. The imperialist powers of France and the UK drew lines on maps that suited their purposes, not those of the local populace. So, how does this comport with the situation in China? You mention the Iraqis. Don't forget that in the 1980s they invaded Iran and then in the early 1990s they took over a neighboring sovereign country. A country of fellow Arabs. They used chemical weapons on the battlefield and against one of their own ethnic minorities. Poor Iraqis indeed. As for Syria, they were, are, a dictatorship. When their people called for democracy, they brutally crushed the protestors. Then there arose in their midst one of the most reprehensible and brutal movements in recent times. Poor Syrians indeed. Palestine and Yemen were also creatures of the colonial era and are such a mess that I won't go into more detail, except for one thing. Do you realize that the Houthis actively and openly practice slavery. Yes, good old-fashioned slavery. Who forced them to do that? Ah, the oppressed peoples of the Middle East. Again, I ask, what the heck does that have to do with China?
2
@aslouie Love it!
1
@codyshi4743 You totally missed what I was saying about China and the Middle East. Because they have a similar history vis-a-vis the colonial powers and borders is not the type of connection I was talking about. Also, I talked about the situation in my comment, so you haven't added anything there. As for China being diverse and having so many ethnic groups, that is a matter of perspective. At least 90% of the Chinese population is in one ethnic group, the Han. That would not be considered very diverse in most places. As for the struggle being like Iraq, I don't see it. Iraq has basically two ethnic groups, Arabs and Kurds. Among the Arabs there is a split between Sunni and Shia religious groups. There is nothing like that in China. Basically, China tends to split on regional lines. There are three sort of exceptions, but in terms of population these are not very significant and are also geographic. One is the western area of Xinjian. Another is Inner Mongolia. The third is Tibet.
1
@longdragon88 What type of bot are you? If you were a person you would back up your claim with a real argument addressing something specific that was said. What is ridiculous? If you have something to contribute, we all could learn something. As it is you are basically showing that you operate at the level of a five year old. Actually, when my kids were five, they would have done better. So, let's go back to toddler. Your statement also points to a low education level or to a very poor education if at a higher level. Such comments/argument would never have been considered appropriate at any educational institution I am aware of. For one thing, you have no idea of what I know about China. I have no idea what you know, assuming you are not a bot. On a platform like this you have to address the ideas expressed. Your assumptions about another's knowledge are totally inappropriate. Statements like yours are an unfortunate side effect of social media. Like I said, you could be a bot considering that you repeated the same thing to two people. Between bots and people operating at the level of a small child, the usefulness of platforms like this are diminished.
1
@gabaghoul__ Yes, it was. The western governments were actually running out of silver.
1
@426mak You need to work on your comprehension skills. He specifically made it about shopkeepers.
1
@adrianainespena5654 The problem for Escobar is that he is does not run a government. Governments can do all kinds of crazy things that individuals, companies and drug cartels cannot. I think it has something to do with governments having "legitimate" military power. Now matter how rich and violent a cartel is, it will never match the power of a real military.
1